Who is she to me?
by ViridianOleanderson
Summary: In another world, born of different circumstances, James-Sirius Potter reflects upon his relationship with the reclusive Heiress of the Malfoy Clan. The eldest and only daughter of Draco and Hermione Malfoy, Bellatrix Malfoy. Oneshot. Contains OCs. Alternate-Universe, Where things happened differently. Implied/Mentioned, DracoxHermione, HarryxGinny.


James had never understood his friendship with the Malfoys. Well, actually that wasn't true, Orion was his best friend for a reason. The pair got along well and were like brothers. His relationship with Scorpius was something of an acquaintanceship, but James rather liked his little brother's best friend. And Cetus, well, everybody liked Cetus and he was no exception to that.

Hell, he was even on good terms with Mr and Mrs Malfoy, who happened to be his Godparents.

The only Malfoy he didn't understand was the eldest of the siblings. Bellatrix Malfoy was and still is a complete mystery to him.

Despite having known each other for years, through the girl's twin Orion, he was still unable to get a proper read on her. He had thought he had her figured out when she was sorted into Slytherin. The girl was smart, reclusive, strong-willed and extremely cunning to the point where she had tricked her way into Ravenclaw Tower and had bypassed Hogwarts School Rules multiple times.

He thought that was enough to understand her. Apparently, he was wrong.

Their friendship James had always considered as an alliance of sorts. They were too close to be called acquaintances, but they were not to the point of being best friends. He would stick up for her to his classmates, even if she sometimes resented him for it. And in return she would help him with whatever he needed. No matter what it was, if it was in her power she would do it and if it wasn't she would still do it. It was an alliance formed between two opposing parties who were unaware they needed each other.

James didn't understand how people thought her to be cruel. Or hateful. She was aloof. A mystery. The Ice Queen of Slytherin House had been a title she had earned. And that people found her to be unrelatable? Hah! That was stupid. You can't expect to get to know someone if you don't actually try. If you want to relate to someone you shouldn't label them as a 'Diamond Goddess' just to spite them.

But maybe it was because a lot of people found her icy demeanor and blunt personality to be intolerable?

James did not find her to be intolerable like the rest of his house, or, as he had long suspected, as the rest of the school. He actually appreciated her cold presence at times. It was a reminder that reality was not always nice. It could be rough and hard and it could hurt you in the worst possible ways imaginable, just ask his father. Because Harry had lost many of his loved ones in the Second Wizarding War, and even the First Wizarding War had taken his parents. Bellatrix liked to remind him that there were more problems in the world.

She had said so when he and Orion were studying with her for an Ancient Runes assignment and Orion had declared it was too hard.

He remembered that day with ease.

He and Orion sat in the opposite side of the Slytherin. Their heads bent over rolls of parchment and books scattered across the tabletop in an un-orderly fashion. They had been sitting there for less than three hours.

Orion's head snapped up, banging his fists on the table in frustration, making James jump and Bellatrix raise an eyebrow questionably.

"What are you doing?" She asked in her toneless voice that held no emotion and butchered all possibilities of soothing. It wasn't cold but it wasn't nice either. Simply indifferent.

"I'm sick of this! We've been here for hours and we still haven't finished!" Orion exclaimed.

James stared at him. He wasn't entirely sure if this was an argument he wanted to join.

"Try harder." She replied her silver-grey eyes measuring her brother's stance.

It was extraordinary how she did that. Observe someone without actually seeing them. James occasionally wondered if she was a Legilimens. It would explain a lot.

"How am I supposed to try harder?! This is too hard to figure out! I don't even know why I chose Ancient Runes in the first place!" He made to swipe the books off the table and James flinched as they flew across the ground, somehow landing without a sound. He looked up to see Bellatrix with her wand out, her eyes hard and stern as she fixed them on her wayward brother.

"Leave if you choose to. I will not tolerate you throwing a tantrum like this in the library. Go cool off and clear your head." It wasn't a suggestion but a flat out command that James had seen his parents use several times.

He was now certain that the Malfoys used it just as much for her to have mastered such a skill.

Orion had huffed, gathering his belongings whilst muttering obscenities under his breath. He asked if he wanted to join him but James shook his head, he had feeling Orion needed to be alone for a while.

Once the scowling brunet had left the library accompanied by hard death glares from the librarian, the remaining Malfoy waved her wand. Books and scattered papers levitating into the air and settling in an orderly fashion on the desk.

All the while she was staring after her brother with a troubled expression in her otherwise fathomless eyes.

"He doesn't get it," She whispered, James looked up, he was certain she was talking to herself, but her eyes were fixed on him, watching him with the same calculating gaze that drew in his attention. She was like a beacon when she did that, he knew she had something important to say when she did that.

"He doesn't understand. He sees things in only black and white, purposely ignoring the various shades of grey that surround him so he can make things easier for himself. It has limited his attention span." She closed the book that was in her hands and placed it on the table, intertwining her fingers and gazing over his shoulder.

"The world is not black and white, but shaded. A canvas of colours that have been muted into the background by the rules of society and things like war or poverty... But like I said he doesn't get that, he can't see past all the prejudice, the hate, the love in society, and it hurts him, he may not show it but I can see that it hurts him more than he is willing to admit."

He saw the way her eyes lost focus and he suddenly felt uncomfortable. Bellatrix Malfoy was not the type of girl to let her guard drop so easily. She was always alert, always aware of what was going on around her. He was unnerved by her sudden loss of focus.

Still she continued speaking.

"Struggling with simple tasks is the only way he can cope with his guilt, no matter how irrational his fears seem. They're still there. He feels guilty for being rich, he feels guilty for having multiple houses, mansions, he feels guilty for living a privileged life compared to others who have to squander in poverty. He doesn't realise that none of it is his fault and he blames himself for it."

She was back, her focus returned and fixed on him. Her frigid features held an indescribable emotion to them. Despite the sudden queasiness that settled in his stomach he stared straight back.

"The world is bigger than Ancient Runes, Potter. It's bigger than Hogwarts and far more difficult to live through. These assignments are mere obstacals, simply tasks that can be achieved through accessible resources. The world is not. The world must be understood by experiencing what it has to offer."

She rose and James watched the way her hair fell over her shoulders as she packed her books in her bag.

As she turned to leave she paused, turning back to him. "Your task is simple, translate the story. Do not mistake what you have been given now for something trivial, appreciate what you have and anticipate what you'll get. There are harder things in life than this."

Then she left, leaving James to watch as her emerald green hair bow disappeared around the shelves.

When he left the library two hours later he had a completed translation of an Ancient Runes text and a strange serenity that made him look at everything differently.

Bellatrix Malfoy she was... well... she was just there. Always there. She was like air. Ever-present but never fully appreciated until it was taken from you. And when you did need her she would be there, she would be there to help.

Reclusive, yes. Distant, yes. But she was kind-hearted. She stood up for people in a way that was so... Her. And he had seen the best and worst of her, although he had never experienced the sting of her hexes it was said to be ruthless. He knew her, and that was what made her a mystery to him. Because Bellatrix Malfoy was forever changing, in the most subtle of ways that almost nothing seemed different. James suspected she was a little bipolar. It reminded him of the ocean.

Being the Dragon-Born daughter and heir of the Malfoy Clan. Maybe it was a Slytherin thing? Or perhaps it was just primary to the Malfoys? He didn't care. She had a heart. It was there and he knew it. Although it seemed to be encased in diamond that made it all the more endearing. Because those who earned a place inside that hardened heart would always be, they would be protected and cared for. Like armour that could never break.

And James liked to believe that he, himself, held a place in that beautiful heart, and he wanted to help protect it, he wanted to know that her love was protected because it was truly an amazing thing.

Which is why he was here, holding the heir of the Malfoy Clan in his arms as she wept tears of pain. His fingers threading through the blonde tresses of her hair as he tried to comfort the traumatised girl. He whispered comforting words, rocked her back and forth and ruthlessly tried to beat down the murderous urges that were singing in his blood.

He had never experienced such an urge before. Never this strong and he wanted nothing more than to Crucio the bastards who had broken one of the strongest- correction, the strongest- Witch he had ever met. But he couldn't do that. Not now. He had to help her first. Besides, Orion had already informed his father of the events, and there was no doubt in his mind that the Dragon had assembled an army to wreak havoc on those who had dared lay their hands on his daughter.

James just wished that he could go with them to deliver his own wrath.

Mrs. Malfoy ran to him, his own mother following close behind her, dropping to her knees as she saw the sight of her bloodied daughter.

"Oh sweet Merlin, no, Belle, no..." She whispered, the horror evident in her expression and her voice as reached forward to touch one of the numerous bite marks that marred her arms.

Belle flinched, whimpering, and burrowed deeper into his chest, James in return held her closer shooting a horrified glance at his mother and godmother.

"What happened?" She asked sitting up on her knees and leaning over them both to look over her wounds. He could tell by the shaking of her hands that she was trying to restrain from taking her daughter in her arms the way her maternal instincts screamed for her to.

"We-e were attacked- they took us to their leader- and he-" He choked his throat constricting, the memories of how they broke her becoming fresh in his mind. Tears had begun to stream down his cheeks. "She needs help - They bit her!"

James closed his eyes, his fingernails digging into his scalp. He ripped at his hair, violently trying to inflict some pain on himself. He was that agitated. The tension in his muscles and the torrent of emotions in his head compelling him to inflict pain. He couldn't hurt anyone around him. He had taken to hurting himself. Blaming himself. Hating himself for what was happening to one of his most precious people.

~×X×~

Fin


End file.
